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When Chip Matthews heard the mail truck arrive on his sixth birthday, he rushed off – not knowing he would return with treasure.
Outside the house, decorated with birthday balloons, postman Tawanna Purter was holding a stack of boxes. One of them was marked with Chip’s name and a greeting for his special day, November 5th.
“So when he came running to the door, I said, ‘You must be Chip!’ And he was like, yeah. I said, “Is it your birthday today?” And he started to smile, ”Purter said.
“So I said, ‘Let me see if I can get you something for your birthday.’” She checked her pocket and surprised him with a gift: a dollar bill and four quarters.
This is the kind of thing Purter does – “I help anyone, I don’t care,” she said – surprise people with gas or cash at the grocery store when they need it, pay the kindness of others who helped her when she struggled to keep a job.
That day, the 42-year-old postman made a little boy very happy.
“He was ecstatic,” said his mother, Bonnie Matthews. “He ran back into the house just waving his money around, so excited he got money for his birthday from a very special and unexpected place.
Chip is saving up to buy a Spider-Man figure. Her mother said the kind gesture gave Opelika, Alabama, family hope after the long months of pandemic isolation, during which she lost her job as a school counselor.
“Our family, like many families, has suffered a lot … had some pretty significant challenges. And so actions like that, I think these are the things, these are the memories that we hope to take away from these nine months, ”said Bonnie Matthews.
She hopes Chip and her 8-year-old sister Bennett will remember it when they grow up. “Not the ugly that was there right now, but the good and the kind and the gift.”
A photo of a smiling Chip and Purter next to the mail truck has been shared widely on social media. Purter said she was just trying to give back, because people are often nice to her 8-year-old son Joshua and sometimes give him a dollar or two to brighten his day.
One recent day, Chip heard the mail truck and rushed out again, this time delivering an envelope with a thank you card for his favorite postman. They smiled again and posed for another photo.
“Even though … no one knows how they’re going to be successful until the next day,” Purter said, “there are still people who … take their time and always want to be kind.”
Since that day, the families have kept in touch. Purter has struggled to find someone who can take care of her son, and Matthews has agreed to watch him at her home so he can attend virtual classes while his mother is on her mail route. They are delighted with a bond that began with a small birthday present that united two families.
“It was a great time,” Matthews said. “There was a reason we were reunited.
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“One Good Thing” is a series that highlights individuals whose actions provide glimmers of joy in difficult times – stories of people finding a way to make a difference, no matter how small. Read the collection of stories at https://apnews.com/hub/one-good-thing
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The Associated Press religious coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through the Religion News Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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